Ok, they’re not fully finished yet, but the first sock is essentially complete, so now’s as good a time as any to share with you guys.

These are for a really great friend of mine, someone who’s really been there for me in the last few months. I’m incredibly lucky that she works around the corner and can meet on the street corner for “nonsmoking breaks” at nearly any time, and that we can call each other during the day and say “wanna come over for dinner?”

So of course the socks are named for her, and I picked the stitch pattern with her in mind. See, it’s kind of delicate and maybe a little girlie, but totally sturdy and hard-working–and my friend has these qualities, too. I started these socks at Christmas (they’re a Christmas present, technically), and in fact I knit them for the many-hour knitting session Lolly and I had over the break. Of course, when I got back home that night and was knitting with my mom, I discovered that I couldn’t pull the socks on over my heel (I started them top-down). So they got shoved in the knitting basket.

Last Monday I pulled them out again, and I thought about how best to tackle the pattern. See, because it’s got this lattice effect, and the yarn is just slipped past lots of stitches, there’s a limited amount of lateral stretch you can get. So I had to think of it as a flat fabric and work around that–this means I had a lot more stitches for the leg than I needed for the foot, and planning for the decreases/increases was making my head hurt. But when I started the socks toe-up, it all kind of clicked.

It fits her nicely (I had her try it on a few days ago). But as I did the shoot I realized the cuff should have fewer stitches than the leg, to make it tighter. So I’ll have to take out the cuff. Luckily, I didn’t cast off, anticipating skeins of slightly different lengths.

What a warm and fuzzy way to thank a friend. The pattern is lovely and shows much thought and appreciation of her personal qualities. May she appreciate your efforts and have warm thoughts whenever she wears them.

Aw, that’s so sweet of you. Just a warning: don’t make the cuffs TOO tight–I remember their namesake searching high and low for boots that would fit around her calves. Some of us are just blessed with large, toned muscles. I know she’ll love them, though–she’s a sucker for handmade gifts :)

I love the socks, but what really hit me in this post is your “non-smoking breaks.” I take those and call them sunshine breaks (or fresh air breaks for the few cloudy days here in Eastern Washington). I love them, need them, and people think I’m using knitting to stop smoking! I’ve never smoked, but always recomend knitting as a useful attempt!